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Lately, I've just been having this craving for hot chocolate. And not the gross mixes you stir up with 6 oz. of hot water. Yuck. I'm talking about the rich, hot, thick mouthy drinking chocolate you might find at a chic sidewalk cafe in Europe someplace. Of course topped with heavy whipped cream. Obvi.

So, I googled recipes.

This post from Well Plated came up, and I was on my way! Next stop...good chocolate. For a splurge, Erin (from Well Plated) recommends Guittard. So, that's what I did. Decadent and glorious. And just what I needed.

I actually had this for dinner one night. Not kidding.

Photographing the whole thing was a different thing entirely. Photography is new to me, and wow do I have a lot to learn. Maybe don't put whipped cream on hot chocolate if you're trying to photograph it? All it does is melt and drip everywhere!

Which then I felt compelled to slurp up. It was kinda hilarious, actually. Me: "Seriously?" Expletive, slurp, slurp, chuckle, slurp, shoot, shoot, smile, slurp. By this time, the light was gone (as you can see in the above grainy photo), and I just drank the whole cup. Started the whole thing over a few days later. Life is hard. I had to indulge in drinking chocolate twice in one week. What a world, what a world! (Anyone get that reference? Does this help? "Who would have thought that some little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness." Still no? See bottom of post for answer.)

So, this is how it's done, for realsies.

Start with 2 ounces of Guittard or some glorious chocolate of your choice. Dark chocolate is best. I like bars in the 70% to 85% cacao range. This Guittard chocolate is 70% cacao, labeled "gourmet baking bars."

Then style it a variety of ways to see which photo you like best. :)

This one's not so bad. A tower of chocolate!

OK, it's not actually necessary to style your chocolate before you use it, but it is fun. I think the chocolate had fun, too. :)